What Is A Teeth Cleaning?

When we say teeth cleaning, we’re talking about a professional dental cleaning, not just brushing your teeth at home. Without a professional cleaning, tartar and plaque could build up, discolor your teeth, affect your gums and bone, and lead to decay or tooth loss.

And when you think about the consequences of not taking care of your teeth, visiting the dentist twice a year (recommended) doesn’t sound so bad after all

A professional teeth cleaning gets all the plaque and tartar off your teeth.

Dental Cleaning Procedure

Depending on the condition of your teeth, the time a cleaning takes can vary. But usually, the whole appointment can last between 30 minutes and an hour.

1. Intraoral Examination
2. Removal Of plaque and tartar  If they find any plaque and/or tartar, they will remove them with a tool called a scaler. Usually, plaque and tartar congregate near your gum line and between your teeth. It will sound like scraping and that may concern you, but you should know that this is perfectly normal. And the more buildup in your mouth, the more scraping they will have to do.

There are two types of scaling instruments and some dentists or dental hygienists may use both:

	Scaling with ultrasonic instruments. Ultrasonic scaling instruments clean plaque from the teeth with a vibrating metal tip that chips off the tartar and a water spray to wash it away and keep the tip cool.
	Scaling with hand-held instruments. Your dentist or periodontist will use a dental scaler and curette to manually remove (scale) the plaque from the teeth.

Cleaning With Toothpaste

After the dentist has removed all of the tartar and plaque, they will brush your teeth using an electric toothbrush. The toothpaste they use will feel gritty because it’s made with particles that help scrub your teeth.

Airflow™ is an air polishing & cleaning system which uses air, water, and sodium bicarbonate powder to remove external stains, dental plaque and soft debris while simultaneously polishing tooth surfaces.